Jockey is a character-driven drama set in the world of horse racing but the film is unlike movies such as Seabiscuit and Secretariat. Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) is in the last leg of his career as a jockey. Numerous injuries over the years have taken a toll on his physical health. And yet, he’s still here facing down the twilight of his career. For all he knows, this season could be it and like all…
"Sundance 2021: Jockey"Author: Danielle Solzman
Danielle Solzman
Critically acclaimed actress Robin Wright marks her feature directorial debut with Land, a film about the search for meaning in the wilderness. Edee Holzer (Robin Wright) retreats into the Wyoming wilderness after events leave her feeling withdrawn from the world. What is her reason for doing so? Will withdrawing from society lead to her being able to find meaning in life? Only time will tell. What I can certainly tell you is that she is…
"Sundance 2021: Land"
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street is a nostalgic look at the beginnings of one of the most iconic children’s TV program. It’s honestly surprising the Sesame Street story has not been told before as a documentary. What we get in the film’s run time barely touches the surface. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing because it certainly is not. What I am saying is that there is so much…
"Sundance 2021: Street Gang"
Together Together marks a cinematic game-changer in terms of opportunities given to transgender talent on the big screen. Transgender talent are have really just begun to start getting more opportunities in big screen roles. More often than not, it’s usually a supporting role or a mere cameo in a big screen film. What we see in this film is a complete game-changer in every sense of the word. Not only does Patti Harrison have a…
"Sundance 2021: Together Together"
At the Ready is a documentary that looks like one type of film on paper before providing viewers with a twist in the film’s second half. The film focuses on a group of Mexican American students in the criminal justice club at Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas. These students also take law enforcement classes. They are only ten miles away from the border between the US and Mexico. As you can imagine, people…
"Sundance 2021: At the Ready"
A Glitch in the Matrix makes a deep dive into the concept of “simulation theory” and whether or not the theory goes beyond sci-fi. What filmmaker Rodney Ascher seeks do to with the film is explore this concept of “simulation theory.” This theory holds that what we believe to be our reality might actually be a cover for something else. Is there something legitimate here or is the idea way out there? The average person…
"Sundance 2021: A Glitch in the Matrix"
How It Ends is the existential comedy-drama (mostly comedy) filmed during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that I didn’t know I needed. Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) is on a mission to get to a party before the end of the world. Joining her for the day is her younger self (Cailee Spaeny). Because it is the last day on the planet, people can see her younger self. This film takes place in some sort of metaphysical reality…
"Sundance 2021: How It Ends"
It turns out to be business as usual when polyamorous lovers reunite in France in the Sundance-premiering Ma Belle, My Beauty. Before we meet them in France, Lane (Hannah Pepper), Bertie (Idella Johnson), and Fred (Lucien Guignard) used to be polyamorous lovers in New Orleans. Everyone loved Bertie so things worked out. All good things come to an end. Out of the blue, Lane would soon depart from their lives. But when we meet them…
"Sundance 2021: Ma Belle, My Beauty"
Right when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Sally Aitken gives fans a documentary of Valerie Taylor in Playing with Sharks. Listen up, Jaws fans. This film should certainly capture your attention. I know you watch Jaws every summer because I do the same thing, too. After all, the Steven Spielberg film is a cinematic classic. What Playing with Sharks does is take viewers where the Jaws bonus features (sorry,…
"Sundance 2021: Playing with Sharks"
Son of Monarchs holds its international premiere this Sundance as the winner of this year’s Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. A Mexican biologist, Mendel (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), calls New York home for the moment but he returns home upon his grandmother’s death. Family relationships have changed since leaving for New York. You can sense some bitterness coming from older brother Simon. The two of them were left as orphans following their parents death in…
"Sundance 2021: Son of Monarchs"